


Better Late Than Never

by their_north_star



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: College, F/M, Fluff, Jealousy, anyway lydia and stiles love each other and its canon, this was supposed to be a paragraph but I got carried away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 04:46:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11616162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/their_north_star/pseuds/their_north_star
Summary: "Woah woah woah, wait a minute," Stiles said trying to catch her eye with a hint of what appeared to be amusement on his face. "Are you...jealous?"





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally just supposed to be a paragraph for the prompt "Wait a minute. Are you jealous?" on Tumblr, but I got a little carried away :))

Lydia tossed her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulders, heels clacking loudly against the ceramic floor as she entered the George Washington University Library. Although Stiles resumed classes a couple weeks ago, Lydia's Spring Break was two weeks after his and she had planned a surprise trip to D.C. as soon as Stiles' plans to drive up over his own Spring Break fell through when his jeep died.

Not that she was surprised at the unfortunate incident. She warned him driving that thing cross-country would only take away from its already borrowed time, but of course Stiles was still Stiles and he was not going anywhere without that jeep in tow. 

Unable to catch a break from both of their insanely busy schedules, Stiles and Lydia hadn’t seen each other in person for over two months. They talked on the phone every night before they went to bed of course, texted each other from class to class, and even had Skype calls at least four times a week. But as they knew going into it, it just wasn’t the same as being glued to each other’s side like they were all Summer. 

In hindsight, Lydia missed him.

She missed falling asleep against him, his warmth both comforting and reassuring, his arms always wrapped around her and holding her tight. She missed the way he would intertwine their fingers, rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand anytime he noticed her getting anxious or annoyed. She missed their late night drives that Stiles would wake up at 3a.m. to take her on when the voices got a little too loud. 

But most of all she just missed having him near her, the knowledge that she could just lean into his side if she wanted to, the soothing feeling of his breath hot on her neck. Just a physical reminder that he was there. He was alive, and he was okay. And that no one was ever going to take him away from her again.

A soft "ding" snapped Lydia out of her thoughts, and she checked her phone to see Stiles’ reply to her earlier text:

Lydia: u were going 2 check the library right? did u actually manage 2 find a spot?

Stiles: yup, finally. i had to go 2 like the very back of the 2nd floor but one of my classmates was able 2 save us a table. it’s noisy tho because it’s the only floor ur allowed to talk on -_-

Stiles: ALSO this guy behind me hasn’t moved for a solid hour and i’m not sure whether 2 check on him or if he’s gonna be one of those jumpy people that punch u in the face when u wake them up the wrong way.

Stiles: seriously lyds this beautiful face has had it’s fair share of punches it can’t take much more.

Biting back a laugh, Lydia made her way up the stairs and scanned the tables of students in an attempt to find her boyfriend. Amidst the conversation and the steady flow of people that walked past her, she finally spotted him between two book shelves laughing at someone the case was blocking. The moment her eyes landed on him Lydia felt a weight being lifted off her chest. The warmth that automatically began spreading through her veins created a wave of calm that blissfully washed over her in one deep breath.

She didn’t like to admit it, but ever since the Ghost Riders she had begun to develop a kind of tightness in her chest anytime Stiles wasn’t around. She had of course attributed the anxiety to the traumatic experience of the boy she loved being physically ripped out of her hands and erased from her memory. That was bound to have some long term effects. In this world, they of all people knew that anything could happen, so who could really blame her for worrying?

Excitement tickling the inside of her skin, Lydia made her way down the aisle ready to surprise him, but she stopped short nearly feet away from the table. A very pretty, brown haired girl was talking animatedly across from him, and Lydia didn’t miss the bright gleam in her large brown eyes when what she said caused Stiles to break out into another fit of laughter. 

Before she could move any further, the girl’s eyes landed on her and Stiles turned in her direction. He froze the moment he saw her, clearly taking a minute to process who he was looking at. She watched his mouth literally drop open to form a smal 'o' and his eyes widen in disbelief.

“Lydia?” he asked taking the sight of her in like she could disappear at any moment.

“Uh...hi,” she said back suddenly feeling unusually self conscious of the girl across from him who was looking her up and down. But before Lydia even had time to form another coherent thought, Stiles’ chair clamored noisily behind him and she was finally back in his arms.

Lydia let out a sigh as she buried her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his familiar scent, gripping the fabric of his flannel shirt. She heard Stiles let out a sound of disbelief as he rocked them back and fourth, his grip on on her never loosening. Lydia peeked up at the girl over Stiles’ shoulder and noticed that she had suddenly become very disinterested in them and very interested in the stack of papers in front of her.

As soon as Stiles pulled away his hands immediately went to cradle her face. Before she could even get a word out, Stiles immediately pressed his lips to hers and Lydia nearly melted in his arms. She brought her own hands up to his chest and pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt, deepening the kiss. Despite their very public location and audience, it was too easy for them to fall back into the familiar sensation of their bodies pressed together so tightly it was if they were the only ones in the world. 

It may have been months since she’d last seen him, but the feeling of Stiles' lips on her own was something that she couldn’t easily forget. 

When they finally broke apart Stiles flushed slightly remembering where they were. Thankfully, the only person that seemed to be paying attention was the girl at Stiles' table who quickly looked back down to the papers on the desk as soon as she made eye contact with Lydia.

“Sorry,” Stiles said sheepishly, although he didn’t look apologetic at all. “I just-God Lydia I missed you so much. What are you doing here?”

Lydia couldn't help the smile that immediately spread across her face. "I don't know Stiles. What possible reason do I have to drive seven hours down the East Coast?" she asked sarcastically.

Stiles raised his eyebrows, "To cross the Washington Monument off your bucket list?" 

"Well obviously," she shot back with a grin, "But I was supposed to see my boyfriend two weeks ago and I didn't. Better late than never though right?"

Stiles face lit up, but before he could reply someone cleared their throat behind him. Stiles turned around seemingly forgetting that he had left his "friend" at the table. "Shoot, I'm sorry!" Stiles said far too apologetically for Lydia's liking.

"Lydia," he said lacing their fingers together and leading her towards the table, "This is-" 

"Elizabeth" the girl interrupted standing up quickly and extending her hand for Lydia to shake. Her gesture was more forceful than friendly and Lydia sensed a kind of possessiveness in the girl's eyes. She stared at her hand not wanting to let go of Stiles' or actually shake it, but she begrudgingly forced a tight smile to spread across her lips and grabbed her hand briefly before pulling away. 

"Lydia Martin, nice to meet you." 

"Liz is in my Econ class," Stiles explained completely oblivious to Lydia pressing her lips together at the nickname. "She's like a genius when it comes to Economics-oh wait not that she's dumb when it comes to other things because she's not, that's, that's not what I meant at all I um-" Stiles sputtered causing Lydia to roll her eyes. Elizabeth grinned and Lydia suspected it was more at her obvious annoyance than Stiles' adorable inability to stop blubbering. 

"Anyway," Stiles said getting back on track, "she's been helping me cram for our exam on Friday." 

"Yeah," Elizabeth replied smiling at Stiles and not even bothering to look at Lydia, "He needs it. It's a good thing the library's 24/7 this week. We'll probably be here all night." Lydia saw her eyes twinkle at the thought and immediately dropped her purse down on the table causing Elizabeth to jump slightly.

"Well lucky for you 'Liz'," she stated, her voice mockingly sweet, "I took College level Economics in the 11th grade and made a perfect score so I think Stiles here will be in perfectly good hands." Lydia gave the girl a smile so painfully fake that Elizabeth visibly narrowed her eyes and made a "hrumph" sound under her breath before turning to face Stiles.

"I think we should really go over this together" she pressed, pretending like Lydia wasn't right next to her, "That was years ago, I mean who knows what she actually remembers. And no offense" she said barely even turning to look at her, "but she's just gonna distract us. We need to focus and you really have to get a good grade on this to-"

"Don't worry sweetheart," Lydia interrupted, her tone far more forceful than it was before. "I'll take it from here."

After let out a scoff at Lydia, both girls looked towards Stiles who was looking back and fourth between them with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

Finally, Stiles' eyes settled on Elizabeth and he smiled politely but a little more cooly than before, "Thanks for the help Elizabeth, but I think I'm good now. Lyds here has a 170 IQ and a perfect GPA. She's the most focused person I know. And, " He turned his head to wink at her, "she doesn't forget anything."

A real smile made its way back across Lydia's face when Stiles immediately came to her defense. She barely even looked over as Elizabeth packed up her things and mumbled a frustrated "See you in class," before briskly making her way away from the couple. 

Stiles just shook his head as he watched her go and slid his hand into Lydia's, gently beginning to rub soothing circles on her hand with his thumb. Wow, she had missed him. 

"Looks like you've made some great friends," she said sarcastically, not even bothering to hide her annoyance as Stiles packed up and begin to lead her to the stairwell to leave.

Stiles looked down at the floor as they walked, his eyebrows stitched together quizzically, "She's not usually like that. I don't know what her problem was today."

"Today?" Lydia asked sharply turning to come face to face with him. Was he really this blind? "Believe me Stiles, that girl is gonna be like that everyday to anyone remotely interested in you. And you know what, that happens to be a lot of people," she said, the words slipping out before she could stop herself.

Lydia quickly looked away self consciously, still unaware of how it took her so long to realize just how amazing Stiles was. It was obvious a lot of girls were catching on quicker than she had, and it wasn't until right now that she realized Stiles had an entire world of options.

"Woah woah woah, wait a minute," Stiles said trying to catch her eye with a hint of what appeared to be amusement on his face, "Are you...jealous?"

Lydia felt her expression harden and opened her mouth to deny it, but much to her dismay no words came out and she felt herself slump forwards slightly.

She was surprised to see the look of hurt on Stiles' face before he quickly pulled her down the stairs and outside through the doors to the back exit. 

Finally free from the other students lounging around the area, Stiles took her face in his hands and looked her straight in the eyes. "Lydia, you don't ever need to be jealous of anyone, about anything. Especially about me. You are the most amazing person that I have ever met, and there is no one in this world that I would rather be with. I love you. I've never loved anyone but you." His face got sad for a moment and Lydia felt something inside of her break. "I thought you knew that."

The intensity in Stiles' eyes almost brought tears to her own, and she immediately felt guilty for ever worrying to begin with. She was Lydia Martin. She was the confident one, the one who refused to let anyone in this world shake her resolve. But there was something about Stiles that brought out a vulnerable side of her that she hadn't even known existed.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly already feeling embarrassed. "I'm just so afraid of losing you because...because I love you so much. And I-" before she could finish, Stiles cut her off with a kiss, this one more soft and gentle than the last. 

Lydia pulled away and looked up at him curiously, "What was that for?"

Stiles just smiled, his eyes glowing and a look of pure awe and adoration in his eyes. His eyes searched hers for any hint of recognition of what she had just said, and his thumb brushed against her cheek softly.

"I know I said you didn't have to but..." Stiles trailed off, his smile somehow widening. "It was nice to hear you say it back."

A string of guilt ran through Lydia as she came to the realization they while he might have known, she had never actually said the words out loud to him. Words that everyone deserved to hear in their life, but no one more than Stiles Stilinski. Sighing, she leaned forward and let her forehead softly rest against his. 

"Stiles, I love you. I love you so much. I'm sorry I never said it before."

Stiles let out a chuckle and softly pressed a kiss to Lydia's forehead, "I think better late than never should be our new motto."

Lydia smiled and pulled away, the heaviness in the air slowly dissolving as Stiles brought the conversation to a lighter note. 

"Now I believe someone has some Econ to teach me so I don't flunk out of school before my girlfriend and I have the best week of our lives."

With a laugh, Lydia moved to position herself into Stiles side, taking refuge in the way his body automatically curled around hers. Despite their distance, the problems they would later face, and the supernatural creatures that would eventually come back knocking at their doors, what they had was something that even fate itself could not be credited for. This right here, was something they forged all on their own.


End file.
